‘Vertical Pink Field : Hortus Conclusus (Tensioned Orchard)’ 2006, detail view.

© Wendy I Hardie.

‘Vertical Pink Field : Hortus Conclusus (Tensioned Orchard)’ 2006. © Wendy I Hardie.

‘Vertical Pink Field : Hortus Conclusus (Tensioned Orchard) 1’ 2006. © Wendy I Hardie

Vertical Pink Field : Hortus Conclusus (Tensioned Orchard) 2006. © Wendy I Hardie

A site specific installation created within a small and intimate apple orchard at Crook Hall in Durham. The artist was commissioned to make two large scale installations in the grounds of the medieval hall for the multidisciplinary ‘Art in the Garden’ show curated by Frances Thirlway Fine Art in 2006.

15 Apple Trees, 365 tensioned satin strips temporarily fixed on a 0.5m grid, connecting the major structural branches of the trees to the ground immediately below, articulating the energy generated between the fruit trees and the earth beneath them. The installation took place over 2 weeks in August when the apples were reaching full ripeness, studding and weighing the canopies down, some already fallen, charging the space, a Hortus Conclusus tightly contained by hedges all round, with a concentrated, sensed knowledge, of the physical, cultural and pyschological energy that existed and pervaded the air within this intense space.

The artist interacted with the space and installation over the duration of the show developing additional performative works that responded to the original installation.

All photos by the artist © Wendy I Hardie.